Investigations underway to verify claims by Peter Chong that he was abducted

KUALA LUMPUR: A claim by activist and former Petaling Jaya municipal council councillor Peter Chong (pix) who went missing on April 5 that he was abducted in Hatyai will be verified with Thai police by investigators here.
Kuala Lumpur police chief Commissioner Datuk Amar Singh said today that police will check with their Thai counterparts on Chong's abduction claim to obtain further information.
According to sources, Chong who returned to Malaysia on Sunday, 11 days after he went missing, had told police that he had left for Hatyai following a tip-off that a man was willing to share information on the whereabouts of missing pastor, Raymond Koh.
Apparently on his arrival in Hatyai, he was given instructions to head out to a hotel room.
He was later met by a Malay man at the hotel who allegedly abducted and took him to Pattaya – almost 1,100km away.
Chong claimed that he was held captive before being freed later and had tried to lodge a police report with Thai police in Pattaya.
However, he claimed that Pattaya police advised him to make a report with Hatyai police since the abduction occurred there.
Chong chose to not do so but called his son who then arranged for him to return to Malaysia by flight.
Asked if action in accordance with the law can be taken against Chong if his claims turned out to be untrue, Amar said: "Let us not jump the gun. We are trying to verify his claims with Thai police for now." he said.
However, sources said if the claims turned out to be untrue, there are provisions under the Criminal Procedure Code for police to act on anyone making a false statement.
Chong was last seen by his family on the night of April 5 when he left his house here.
Days earlier, Chong who was apparently an active participant of candlelight vigils held for Koh who was abducted by a group of men on Feb 13, had earlier claimed in a message on Facebook that on March 31 he was approached by a young motorcyclist who gave him "friendly" warning about people going "missing".
A missing persons report was lodged by his family who feared that Chong had suffered the same fate as Koh but police investigations later revealed that he was spotted crossing the Bukit Kayu Hitam-Thai border in a bus – a day after he was last seen by his family.